Vic hooked her finger under Sophia’s chin, gently urging it up until their eyes met. “This morning you said you’d never be the one to pull me down, but now I’m asking for more. I am here asking you to go a step further, to be the one who lifts me up, who holds me accountable, who makes me better, and I’m asking you to let me be the person who does those things for you.”

Sophia stared deeply into her eyes, not even sure how she could respond to such a perfect request from such a perfect woman. Were there even words to adequately promise such a thing? If there were, she didn’t know them, so she did the only thing she knew would be right and pressed her lips to Vic’s.

They kissed like they’d been apart for years rather than hours, but maybe they had been, maybe they’d never been like this before, because Sophia had never experienced such toe-curling completion until this moment.

She could have gladly stayed like that for the entirety of the future they’d just agreed to if Vic hadn’t pulled back entirely too soon.

“Wait,” she said, her grin unbridled and her eyes dancing with joy, “that’s a yes, right?”

Sophia threw back her head and laughed, unable to believe it herself. “Yes!”

Epilogue

Epilogue

One Year Later

Vic stood at the desk of her sitting room and rubbed her forehead as she tried to internalise the elaborate schedule her new personal assistant had dropped off with her croissant and morning tea. “Whose idea was it to plan a wedding and film a movie at the same time?”

“That would be you.” Sophia frowned at her own elaborate itinerary as she sipped that wretchedly strong American coffee she insisted on drinking black. “Though I strongly suspect your mother had a great deal to say about the wedding date since she’s not fond of us living in sin.”

“What?” Vic feigned offence. “I can’t believe you’d suggest I’m anything less than a full adult capable of making my own decisions after everything I’ve learned and executed over the last year.”

Sophia laughed. “It’s okay, I’m still a little frightened of her myself, and when she begins talking about the gardens and what will be in bloom at any given moment, she gets an almost maniacal glint in her eye.”

“Yes, now I remember why we agreed to an August wedding, abject terror laced with a strong desire to get a ring on your finger before the full reality of what you’re marrying into really sinks in.”

The corners of Sophia’s mouth curled up slightly. “At least she’s also terrifying people on our behalf these days.”